U.S. builders started work in August on the most single-family homes in six months and requested permits to construct even more in future months. The figures suggest housing remains a driver of economic growth despite higher mortgage rates.

Toys sellers are gearing up for the holiday season: Wal-Mart Stores, Kmart and Toys R Us have all come out with their "hot" toy lists. While no one can predict which toys will spark crazes, a few toys have made all three lists. Here's a look at which toys are retailer favorites early in the season:

THE NEWS: The Obama administration plans to reassure Americans about the privacy and security of personal information submitted under the health care law, hoping to blunt complaints that enough isn't being done to protect consumer data.

The European Union wants to regulate financial benchmarks that are used in transactions worth trillions of dollars globally, an effort to prevent market manipulations such as the one involving LIBOR, an interest rate banks use to borrow from each other.